A few of the big stories of the week

We pride ourselves on being quite the jet-setters here at Food Republic. Just this week, we put together an infographic about hot dogs from all parts of the globe, wrote restaurant guides to Rome, Italy, and Houston, Texas, traveled with Anthony Bourdain to shoot Parts Unknown in Madagascar and heard from chef Leah Cohen about her noodle-oriented trip to Southeast Asia. With today marking the beginning of Memorial Day weekend, we rounded up 25 recipes we’re looking forward to making this summer and featured Benjamin Franklin’s — yes, you read that right — favorite milk punch recipe. Booze not your thing? We’ve got you covered with an addictive coconut matcha smoothie recipe. All that and more on this week’s hot topics on Food Republic.